I listen to my heart + honor it’s feelings.
I love myself + others fearlessly.
I allow myself to heal.
I choose to be kind and forgiving to everyone and everything.
Purpose – Love + Balance
Color – Green
Location – Heart (Chest, Cardiac Plexus)
Identity – Social
Orientation – Self-acceptance + Acceptance of others
Demon – Grief
Element – Air
Sense – Touch
Symbol – Lotus with 12 petals
Animals – Antelope, birds, and the dove
Tarot Suit – Swords
Celestial Planet – Venus
Corresponding Verb – I love
Yoga Path – Bhakti Yoga
Gods + Hindu Deities – Vishnu, Lakshmi, Krishna, Isvara, Kama, Vayu, Aditi, Urvasi, Aphrodite, Isis, Jesus Christ, Eros
Archangel – Raphael
Chief Operating Quality – Equilibrium
Glands – Thymus
The hexagram within the heart chakra symbol is made of two interlaced triangles, one pointing up and one pointing down. The downward movement of spirit into matter (symbolizes Shakti, a female principle) and the upward liberation of matter into spirit (symbolizes Shiva, a masculine principle) – meeting together at heart, where true balance is attained.
Each one of the twelve petals is inscribed a Sanskrit syllable: (kam, kham, gam, gham, ngam, cham, chham, jam, jham, nyam, tam, and tham) – also representing lustfulness; fraudulence; indecision; repentence; hope; anxiety; longing; impartiality; arrogance; incompetence; discrimination; and defiance.
Energy flows in and out of the petals, carried by the syllable sound, in 12 directions. Each petal represents a plexus where the channels of energy (also called “nadis”) converge. The syllables symbolically represent the vital energy that comes from these points.
Air is pure consciousness – it is with you every moment of your waking life, constantly shaping and influencing your realities. Just like air, consciousness is forever attempting to move into new areas and seek out new information and experiences.
Air is only visible when it’s directed through another element. Witness it’s power by combining elemental forces;
Air + Fire : Burn sage and incense
Air + Earth : Hang a metal wind chime or earth element
Air + Water : Vaporize and mist essential oils
Affinity is a term used in chemistry to describe the tendency of one substance to enter into + remain in combination with another substance. This occurs because of an intrinsic fit within the atomic structure of the substance.
The result of affinity is bonding. When 2 substances with affinity for each other come together, they bond, forming a more permanent connection. Each has something the other is lacking. On a simplified level, it is the attraction of opposites seeking to balance themselves.
Human bonding is so similar to chemical bonding, that we often refer to it as “chemistry”. We may not always understand why we feel drawn toward someone, but the feeling is there, nonetheless, and it is often irresistible.
Most often, the person has something in his or her energy field that we want and need. If we’re lucky, we have something they need too, and a bonding can occur, good for the duration of the affinity feelings. As the heart chakra is the center of balance, it is fitting that love itself, arises, initially out of a natural tendency to merge and balance out energy with other living creatures.
Self acceptance is our first chance to practice unconditional love. It doesn’t mean that we have to give up striving to be better, but that our self love is not conditional on the future or “imagined” change. When we feel unconditional love for ourselves within our heart, it becomes easier + natural to accept others.
Affinity is also seen as a vibrational quality. When we are in “affinity”, the harmonious state we feel give coherency to everything we say or do. When we radiate love within us, in turn, we harmonize our surroundings.
BALANCED HEART CHARACTERISTICS –
- Compassionate
- Love
- Empathetic
- Self-loving
- Altruistic
- Peaceful, balanced
- Good immune system
DEFICIENT HEART –
- Antisocial, withdrawn, cold
- Critical, judgmental, intolerant of self or others
- Loneliness, isolation
- Depression
- Fear of intimacy, fear of relationships
- Lack of empathy
- Narcissism
EXCESSIVE HEART –
- Codependency
- Poor boundaries
- Demanding
- Clinging
- Jealousy
- Overly sacrificing
PHYSICAL MALFUNCTIONS –
- Disorders of the heart, lungs, thymus, breasts and arms
- Shortness of breath
- Sunken chest
- Circulation problems
- Asthma
- Immune System deficiency
- Tension between shoulder blades, pain in chest
NEEDS + ISSUES –
- Love
- Balance
- Self-love
- Relationship
- Intimacy
- Devotion
- Reach out and taking in
Learning Basic Rights – To love and be loved
Developmental Stage – 4 years to 7 years
Developmental Tasks –
- Forming peer + family relationships
- Developing the persona
TRAUMAS + ABUSES –
- Rejection, abandonment, loss
- Shaming, constant criticism
- Abuses to any other chakras, especially lower chakras
- Unacknowledged grief, including parents’ grief
- Divorce, death of loved one
- Loveless, cold environment
- Conditional love
- Sexual or physical abuse
- Betrayal
- Breathing exercises
- Work with your arms; Reaching out, taking in
- Meditation
- {Psychotherapy} Emotional release of grief, inner child work, self-acceptance, examine relationships and surroundings
- Journaling + Self-discovery
- Take time to HEAL
- Eat + surround yourself with green
- Energy tool kits
- Seeking knowledge through guides, books, podcasts, etc.
Opening the heart chakra involves taking down those defenses to experience the love that is the natural state of our being.
Try these Yoga postures to activate your Heart Chakra
Standing Yoga Mudra
The perfect pose you can do anytime, anywhere. This pose is exhilarating + refreshing because you not only open your chest, shoulders + throat, but by bending over, it brings the blood back to your brain.
- Lift your sternum upward while rooting down into the legs
- Deepen the standing pose by drawing the wrists away from the spine
- Bend and dip down as low as you can
Handstand Ado mukha vrksasana
Benefits:
- Energizing for the whole body
- Upper chakra stimulation
- Drains lymph and blood, then replenishes
- Strengthens the arms and shoulders
- Accentuates core
Do you suffer from pain or any disorders with the lungs, thymus, heart, breasts or arms?
Do you get tension between your shoulder blades? Or pain in your chest?
Do you get jealous easily, and don’t even know why?
Do you ever get accused of being clingy or dependent?
Do you ever feel your over sacrifice for those around you?
Do you struggle with keeping healthy and long relationships?
Do you sometimes feel lonely, depressed, or critical?
Has anyone betrayed you recently?
Do you sometimes fear intimacy and/ or relationships?
Do you ever struggle to feel compassion for those with insecurities or struggles?
If your answer is “yes” to more than one of these – you may have some balancing to do! This is how our heart communicates with us! It’s our job to listen for the signals + then act upon it!
Books:
